Just Another Game
by Ambere
Summary: My name is Peeta Mellark. I am seventeen years old. My home is District 12. I was in the Hunger Games. I was captured by the Capitol. I will soon be dead. -Peeta's POV, canon events, takes place in MOCKINGJAY.
1. A Wish Upon a Star

**Chapter One**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games._

Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm back with another HG story. In short, this is Peeta's experience as a prisoner of the Capitol during _Mockingjay _up to when he finally gets rescued. Like the Hunger Games, some parts will get a little gory, and the overall feel will be dark. So, the first chapter of _Just Another Game_. Enjoy!**  
**

_My name is Peeta Mellark. I am seventeen years old. My home is District 12. I was in the Hunger Games. I was captured. The capitol is using me as a puppet. Katniss was taken in by District 13. She is alive. I will soon be a dead man, in more ways than one._

The Hunger Games. The Quarter Quell. These events swim in my head tirelessly. I strive to remember exactly what happened in that last night, the night that ended it all.

_Flashback_

"Will they make it back in time?" I asked Beetee, watching the two figures move deeper into the jungle, towards the direction of the beach. The shorter one was Katniss, keeping her bow ready at hand while the taller figure, Johanna, unraveled the wire that would link the sea to the tree that was struck with lightning at midnight.

"The time hasn't changed since you last asked," Beetee replied, his face remaining solemn. His fingers shifted the wire weaved strategically around the tree.

There was no way this plan could possibly fail, not with the amount of wire covering that tree. He glanced up towards where the force field was, and then back down into the jungle before casting his eyes on his work again.

Finnick was standing on the other side of the tree, securing and holding the wire in place while Beetee worked. I couldn't see how any more work was needed on this tree. The tree trunk was swathed in golden wire.

We waited. Standing in one place made me more aware of the humid, muggy jungle climate and the buzzing of insects. I started to grow restless.

Katniss could take care of herself, I knew. But she got into situations that very few could ever get out of.

And one of these times, might be her last. She had her family to go home to. A sister who needed her, people who relied on her. No matter what, Katniss must make it home.

The time passed slowly and the sky grew darker. I noticed Finnick and Beetee's gazes settled on the winding wire leading into the jungle, looking at it attentively as if they were waiting for something to happen. Beetee's fingers were still clasped around the wire.

I crouched down, wanting to see if I could relieve Beetee's fingers of holding the wire. I took a piece of the wire in my hands.

Beetee looked towards me but didn't say anything. His head shifted back and I felt it: the noticeable feel of the wire slackening.

I saw the wire rippling back towards us, somehow disconnected from the other half Johanna had been holding; it bounced back up the slope but stopped a few feet away. Finnick immediately leapt down to the cut end of the wire, examined it, and looked up at Beetee.

"It's been severed," he told him. Beetee nodded and I felt a silent exchange go between them before he said to me, "They're in trouble."

Something clicked in the confusion and I stood up quickly. Finnick shook his head at me. "You protect Beetee. I'll head down there." Without another word, he fled down the slope to the jungle, where I knew Katniss had run into trouble.

Beetee turned to face me as I was about to disagree with what Finnick said and head down there anyway. I needed to get down, to find out what had happened.

At this point, I had felt something was up between Finnick and Johanna…and Beetee…they had something planned before this. Something neither Katniss nor I was apart of.

"No," Beetee cut in, sensing I was about to argue. "This is what they wanted us to do. Split up, destroy our plan."

"What plan?" I said furiously. "The wire's been cut. There is no other plan...at least not one that I know of!"

"I have a backup plan," said Beetee. "But I need to know the area is clear. Trust me here!" Beetee stood up and started straightening the second wire attached to the tree. I had wondered what it was for.

He uncoiled the rest of it; the wire certainly wasn't long enough to extend down to the sea, and Finnick had already taken off. What was he thinking? And Katniss – where was she?

The only relief was that there had been no sound of cannons yet, although that could happen any moment. I knew what Beetee wanted me to patrol the area around the lightning tree and make sure his backup plan was safe. That didn't make any sense, though.

I had no idea what his backup plan was. When the wire sprung back up to us, he seemed to have been expecting it. So I trusted him and his expertise.

I quickly headed out of sight of the lightning tree, knowing time was ticking. The sky grew darker. _Tick, tock._

The moment I left Beetee's line of sight and into the jungle, I saw a figure – much bulkier than Johanna, Finnick, or Katniss – emerge from the trees down the slope where Finnick had disappeared off to. I stopped moving and tensed up. Could it be Brutus? Panic set in. Brutus, Chaff, Enobaria. Still alive. Katniss.

I moved from tree to tree, determined to reach Katniss. I took note of the increasing sound of insects, which I unsuccessfully tried to block out. It was definitely there as a distraction. And the fact Finnick had still not returned worried me.

I gritted my teeth. The large figure was starting to head further away, not bothering to conceal where he was as he crashed through the jungle undergrowth. Where was he heading? What had he done?

"Katniss!" I shouted into the night. My only answer was the sound of insects. The noise now became unbearably irritating and loud. It also reminded me lightning would soon strike. We were running out of time. _Tick, tock. _"Katniss!"

"Peeta!" I froze in my tracks. I never expected Katniss to reply. She wouldn't give any chance of others finding her. She would only do so if it were a last resort. In other words…she had been wounded…or still trying to protect me.

"Peeta!" I heard again. "I'm here! Peeta!" I heard it over and over. "I'm here! I'm here!" My head whipped towards the sound of her voice, and I began to grasp what she was trying to do. Lead the attackers away from me. Was she succeeding? A cannon blast.

"Katniss!" I yelled, scanning the jungle hysterically. This time I got no reply. My voice was no longer trying to battle against the insects. Before my mind could think of another plan, two more cannons had sounded. _One could be her!_ I didn't make a move, staring up at the sky.

Lightning. It flashed across the night sky, lighting up the arena, and hit the tree spot on. I wondered briefly if Beetee's backup plan had worked.

I heard an explosion from behind me, and instinctively dived behind a tree. Was it Beetee's plan to obliterate all of us? To ruin the Gamemaker's own game by blowing up the whole arena? Either way, as far as I could make out, it was over. Any chance of us being alive, it would only be up to the Gamemakers whether or not to end it sooner. I couldn't save Katniss.

I looked up at the sky and wished upon a star.

…

I was blasted away from my tree and skidded downhill before I grabbed onto a tree root and just hung on.

_What's going on?_ Dust flew into the air and I coughed as I attempted to pull myself back up through the collapsing terrain. The sound of several more explosions erupted overhead.

Debris from the torn jungle floor flew down at me and I had no choice but to shield myself behind a barely rooted tree that had already taken damage. The next set of events happened very rapidly. A large hovercraft silently zoned in on me from overhead, where the sky itself seemed to have been bombed.

All of my instinct told me to hang on to the tree, to not give in and be taken by that hovercraft.

Cold metal grasped my sides, which I though to be a hook to pull me up, and tore me away from the arena's ground. The Capitol insignia on the side of the plan confirmed my suspicion.

So this was how it was. Instead of letting us dying in the arena, they would play with our lives as punishment for ruining the brilliant game they had created.

_Katniss…_ she would get the worst of it. I stopped thrashing around in the metal arms. Even if they did release me, was falling to my death better? I felt my body hit the floor of the hovercraft.

A masked man in a Capitol issued gray jacket and pants injected something into my skin before the hovercraft made a turn. My muscles reacted instantly to the injected drug and they began to relax even though I resisted. I flopped to the side of the hovercraft like a rag doll as it eased from the turn and I was unable to move.

My body hit something else. Straining to see out of the corner of my eyes, I caught the unmistakable eyes of District 7's victor, Johanna Mason. So she had been caught as well. Had she turned against us, though? She glared back at me, but, injected with the same drug that affected her muscles, could only shoot axes at me with her eyes.

Was she upset that she had been captured by the Capitol? Or was she still keeping her attitude, even in the midst of all that had happened?

If those series of explosions were of Beetee's making, he had failed. Those who hadn't died already would be lifted up into here and we'd all pay a price. I was aware of another body being dropped off by mine. We were all injected with another dose of something, and the world slowly started to fade.

I concentrated my mind on the last thing I saw before the area was blown up. The star. My wish.

Author's Note: What did you think Peeta wished for? ;) And a cookie for your thoughts on this story! I had to reread the end of _Catching Fire _many times to make sure I got the scenes right. If I missed anything, please tell me so I can fix it!

Please review :)


	2. If You Want to Get Out of Here Sane

**Chapter Two**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games._

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews last chapter guys! Is anyone else really sad school is about to start again (at least for me)? D: Anyway, thanks to those who pointed out mistakes in the last chapter, I knew I would miss some of those. Enjoy Chapter Two :)

Johanna of 7. Enobaria of 2. In reality, it was just one lonely girl who had nothing but her pride and a once innocent girl turned to a killer without a mind. Enobaria had been released from the Capitol unharmed as the tribute from the most loyal district to the Capitol. Johanna, on the other hand…not so lucky.

_Flashback_

"What are you doing here?" Johanna hissed at me. The three of us – Johanna, Enobaria, and I – were being jostled with our hands behind our backs out of the hovercraft. The hovercraft had landed directly inside a large metal building that was unfamiliar to us.

"Am I supposed to be somewhere?" I replied vaguely, trying to relieve the pressure the metal handcuffs had put on my wrists.

A gloved hand cuffed the back of neck with force. I winced, almost tripping over my feet. What were they going to do to us now? Where had they taken the others?

We were all lead into a small room, with a desk and a couple of stools and armchair. One wall of the room had a large mirror on it – definitely a one way mirror, where the person on the other side could see everything – and I bet, hear everything with hidden cameras and whatnot.

"State your names." The bulky man who had hit me now stood, blocking the door, dressed in the same Capitol issued uniform with thick gloves, pockets on each arm, and black boots. Weren't there Peacekeepers in the Capitol? Or were Peacekeepers not from the Capitol, but from the Districts themselves?

We gave our names. Odd, they should know enough about us to realize who we were at first glance.

The man looked at the mirror, nodded, and jerked his thumb out the door. "Enobaria, you are dismissed."

"What – why?" Johanna blurted before she could stop herself. She was giving Enobaria a deep glare of dislike and looked ready to pounce on her. As soon as she said that, the man swung his fist and it collided with her jaw, making her stumble backwards into the wall.

Enobaria smirked as she opened the door and exited the room. I looked at the man in shock. What was his purpose here?

I backed up a couple of steps to reach Johanna. She ignored my hand and stood back up, wiping her hand on her mouth.

"My orders were to release those who had no part in the rebellion."

"Excuse me? How do you know if she had anything to do with it or not?" Despite my look of warning for her to stop talking, that remark earned her another shove into the wall.

"Johanna!" But I didn't reach my hand out again. If Johanna had turned against us in the arena…what could I say?

"Where are the others?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm the one asking questions. Sit down," the man growled, settling in the armchair beside the table. We sat on the two stools set in front of the desk, Johanna somewhat reluctantly, massaging her bruised jaw.

"This interrogation is recorded. See that mirror there? A panel of experts will be watching your every move, dictating your punishment, and how much damage we'll get to do to you. Understood?" How much damage? Punishment?

"When your girlfriend –" he looked at me " – blew up that force field, detonating several other explosions within the arena, she and her rebel buddies were picked up by District 13." District 13? The look of surprise showed on my face.

The man watched me closely, observing my surprise. He continued. "We _strongly believe_, that this was all planned, with victors in the arena _knowing about it and assisting_." He looked at Johanna. She stared at him full in the eyes, not standing down.

So…another plan where I had not been informed of. I assumed Haymitch was in this all along, and Katniss…was that the reason why she was so confident about protecting me? That we'd all be rescued sooner or later? I gripped the sides of the stool and looked away.

I didn't know just how much of this was all true. It would be easy for the Capitol to spin a story like this, to get me to hate District 13 and anyone else involved in the rebellion.

"So, we're supposed to spill our hearts out to you now? I'd rather save my sob story, thanks," Johanna said distastefully.

"You _do_ realize, Miss Mason, that whatever you say will be counted in with your punishment," the man deadpanned.

"Your point being whatever I'm saying now is adding to my future pain."

"Precisely."

"So why the beating?" Johanna narrowed her eyes, pointing to her bruised jaw.

The man gave another smirk. "As long as you're in this room, you're under my control." Johanna shut up at 'under my control'. I hoped he was keeping his damage inflictions to only hitting and shoving.

"Now that we're settled, let's start with blondie. At any point were you informed the arena might be blown up? Or were you given any information you were told to keep secret, from anyone except those who you were directed to team up with?"

"What? I don't even know what's going on," I blurted, saying the truth. "The only plan I knew of was the one you saw on television."

"Come on now," the man said. "You and your girlfriend are pretty much the rebel leaders in the Districts. Do you know what's going on over there now? It's all hell on earth broken loose. The Districts are all in rebellion. We're firing left and right. And guess who started it all?"

My fingers grew numb. Did what happened in District 11, when I gave them extra money, attribute to what they suspected of me now? "I don't know anything," I muttered. "People have always been keeping things from me, so why should they start?"

The man inclined his head towards the mirror, as if asking a question. No sound came from his mouth though, and after a few moments he nodded and turned back to us. "Alright. Doesn't mean we still can't use you," he said dismissively.

"Hold on. So you get to beat me all you want but he gets let off?" Johanna asked reproachfully.

"I've been given specific orders to keep damage done to a minimum for the boy," the man replied. Johanna bit her lip and didn't say anything.

"Now, with you…if I am to understand, you along with Finnick Odair, the others in your group, and at least five other victors, had a mission to keep Katniss Everdeen alive throughout the Games, so when the force field was blown up she could be rescued by District 13. Is that correct?" The man said this with an air of certainty.

This was news to me. Then again, everything was. I wonder how much Katniss knew. How much information did Johanna know? The look on her face confirmed that what the man said was correct.

"Answer," the man ordered. He must've figured out he was right, but he wouldn't let go at a chance to add more points to her damage infliction meter.

"There's no point in denying what's true," Johanna said simply.

I narrowed my eyes at her. Surely, her pride wasn't worth more than her life? She was playing with fire that could easily get out of control.

"Then, you'll be able to tell me, who told you this information? Was it the leader of District 13?"

"I don't know."

"I demand the truth, Miss Mason."

"It's the truth."

He looked directly at the mirror, as if silently communicating with someone on the other side. He frowned. "That doesn't make any sense," the man muttered.

"Truth hurts, doesn't it," Johanna said under her breath.

The man seemed to figure something out. "Let me rephrase. Who was it that told you the information?" No answer.

"Was it someone within the Capitol?" No answer.

"We can do this the hard way, or the easy way," the man growled. He got up and walked around the table over to Johanna. I gripped the edge of my seat more tightly. He wouldn't…

He grabbed her wrist and when she tried to resist, he twisted it. "I'll give you one more chance before I call in the 'experts'," he whispered. Johanna's eyes widened at the word 'experts'.

"That's right, girl, the big leagues don't play fair. So what's it going to be?" He continued applying pressure on her wrist, twisting it further.

"Don't do that to her." I stood up, eyeing the man even though he was a head taller than me.

"Careful. You don't want them to change their mind and ruin that pretty face of yours," he breathed dangerously.

"The blood of anyone who died in that arena is worth more than yours," I said. At least those who went in didn't have a choice. He on the other hand…

"That's not good news for you, buddy. They'll be marking that down," he nodded at the mirror as he finally released Johanna's wrist. She jerked it back and gave him a look of absolute loathing.

Our interrogator took some kind of device from his belt, pressed a button, and spoke into it. A concealed door from the wall with the mirror opened and two armed Capitol men came in. They stood next to him, unmoving. From the looks of it, they didn't look like they were the brightest.

He motioned to the two men beside him and they immediately took both of us by an arm.

"Let me give you a tip: If you ever want to get out of here sane, you better wish that girlfriend of yours is making some safe choices on her side."

…

I was forced into a barely lit room that contained a drain hole, bench, and door slot. So much for the Capitol being fancy.

The man gripping my hands behind my back gave me a hard push inside and locked the door. Johanna had been taken somewhere else. I hoped the most they were going to do was another interrogation.

"_I've been given specific orders to keep damage done to a minimum for the boy." _What were they planning to do with me?

I knelt on the ground and started feeling the walls and testing the door, for good measure. Then I sat down on the bench, trying to think of what options I had now. They were probably intending to starve me in this place, then drop off my dead body back at District 12.

"_The Districts are all in rebellion. We're firing left and right." _There probably was no home for me to go back to. Not that I was expecting to go back in the first place.

I put my head in my hands, willing with everything I had that if I fell asleep and woke up again, I would be still be in the arena, on the beach…planning the lightning tree attack…and this time we would all be rescued…

The sound of the steel door unlocking and opening woke me with a start. I was still in the same position, arms on my knees, when I caught a glimpse of the same guard who brought me in. He shoved someone else in, and closed and locked the door promptly. Not before saying, "Lights out in ten minutes".

In the already dim and flickering light, I saw my new cellmate: Johanna, a bruise spreading across her arm, wounds that were already from the arena now more defined, and a recent head injury that looked as if she had smashed her head into the wall.

"Johanna!" I whispered. It seemed appropriate to speak in a low voice. "What did they do to you?"

She rose her head up to look at me and it slowly registered with her mind. "It's you…that guard wasn't too bright, was he?"

I helped her onto the bench, careful not to touch her arm. "What makes you say that?"

"For one, they shouldn't be grouping supposed 'rebels' in the same cell now, should they?"

I let out a hollow, one-note laugh. "Nope, not at all." My face grew serious. "Unless they were useless. What did you tell them?"

She held her hands up. "Don't worry, the most I told them was the information had been passed to me by someone just as bad as them." I let out a sigh.

"That can be meant two ways. Someone in the Capitol, or someone on the outside who likes putting kids in a cage and letting them fight it out."

"Well, yeah. Now you've spoiled the surprise. I was planning on telling them anyway."

"What?"

Johanna shuffled her feet on the floor before staring at her hands. "When they were telling about how bad District 13 was, living in their own underground sanctuary and working with the Capitol so they could be left alone, I realized one thing: that no matter what, humans are selfish and greedy." She looked at me. "Can't you see?"

I glanced at her. "Not exactly. You do know this place is probably bugged, right?"

"I know. And of course you wouldn't see. You're that boy who would rather 'talk things out' then to do the necessity to save his life. I saw your Games." She cleared her throat.

"What I'm saying, is, if District 13 succeeds, can you really expect them to be any different than the Capitol? "

I faced the wall opposite of me, letting her words sink in. Surely, the whole reason for rebellion was to get rid of the Capitol and its cruel Games. All our lives, weren't we taught the Capitol was the pinnacle of selfishness and greed? If it really came down to it, would District 13 be the same?

"I'm tired of being of either side," Johanna continued. "I wasn't going to spill everything out to those dirty Capitol guards like a neat little pawn. If I want to say something," she raised her voice, "I'm going to say it on my own terms. So I'm going to tell you everything that happened before and in the arena."

"_Let me give you a tip: If you ever want to get out of here sane, you better wish that girlfriend of yours is making some safe choices on her side."_

Author's Note: Yes, I know Johanna and Peeta had separate cells next to each other in the book. And that's how it's going to be in the next chapter. For the time being, however, as this guard so helpfully (but stupidly) put them in the same cell, I might as well make good of that. :) I really liked Johanna's character. She's like Katniss, but voices her opinions. And no, I am not going to pair her with Peeta, in case any of you were wondering. So, until next time!

Please review :)


	3. The First of Many Card Houses

**Chapter Three**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games._

Author's Note: I'm back! :) For those of you who are getting tired of the flashbacks, here's some good news for you. Two more chapter, and the flashbacks will be over with, so chapter five will be written in present-tense, and we'll see how Peeta's doing there. Enjoy Chapter Three! :)

I really admire Johanna. I suppose she reminds me of Katniss, in some ways. She has backbone, strength, self-confidence; she's got a mouth and attitude. Sometimes I wonder: what kind of Mockingjay would Johanna Mason have been?

_Flashback_

There, in that small, bare cell, Johanna told me as much as she knew about the plan to break Katniss out of the Arena.

"I wasn't given all the names of everyone involved. But I do know Finnick, that old lady with him…Mags, I think…Nuts and Volts were in it. I was instructed to team up with them. No matter how much I doubted this would work," she added distastefully.

"So…no wonder you saved Wiress. You were told she was needed. She was the one who figured out the clock Arena," I figured out, remembering when Johanna had come out of the jungle with an unstable Wiress who would only croak "tick-tock".

In the end, it had been her who found out and Katniss who understood that each section of the circular arena held a deadly obstacle that would activate according to the clock. I wanted to ask a question, but I hesitated. How much trouble was this going to get Johanna in? She was already deep in hot water.

She noticed my expression. "Ask away, Loverboy. I'm doing this of my own volition, so don't ruin my fun, will you?"

"Alright," I said slowly, dropping my voice several octaves anyway. "Who told you this? The plan, what to do?"

"That…I don't know. After the session with the Gamemakers, a tape was delivered to my door. When I opened the door, no one was there. So I watched the tape. It must've been programmed to self destruct after being watched. But that tape had an unidentifiable voice – probably electronically changed – inform me of what was going to happen and what my role was."

"That's all it said? Nothing else was mentioned except the part they wanted you to do?" I asked. I was trying to figure out who else had been in on this too. Namely, Haymitch. After he promised I would be included in any further plans…

"Yes. I'm sure each victor was given limited information in case _this _ever happened," Johanna replied dryly.

"And you trusted it." I was having a hard time believing Johanna, of all people, would trust information given on an anonymous tape.

She laughed, without much humor in her voice. "Many of us victors are old buddies, so we have a reasonable amount of trust in each other." She sighed and rubbed her jaw.

"Once wire popped up in the arena, I pieced together why Volts was part of the team," Johanna continued, "I mean seriously, wire? What were they going to put in it, electric outlets in the trees?"

"To blow up the force field," I realized.

She nodded. "Instead he got slashed with a knife and smart ol' Katniss realized what he wanted to do."

"She can't have known about the plan, though," I said, half-trying to reassure myself.

Johanna snorted. "Relax. One look and her and you, and we all knew she was working on her old plan, to assume the whole 'star-crossed lovers' thing."

I looked away and glanced up. "I wonder what they're doing now."

She shrugged, the slightest look of annoyance flitting across her face. "Volts is probably hacking the Capitol system, Finnick's depressed, and the Mockingjay is being the Mockingjay."

"And you two are going to have to end your nice conversation here," a voice drawled from outside out cell. The door was unlocked and opened, revealing three men in Capitol uniforms. My breath caught in my throat, anticipating what they could do to us now.

Two of the men marched in and took hold of my arms, wrenching me upwards.

Had they decided Johanna was now useless, with her blurting out 'classified information' right in front of the Capitol? I glimpsed her leering at the Capitol men before they, almost lifting me off the ground, dragged me out of the cell.

I remained quiet while they forcefully lead me somewhere within the large building. The third man had stayed behind, to give Johanna a 'little talk'.

I was in fear for Johanna. What could they do to her, now that she had willingly revealed her secrets? Certainly the option to kill her was now available. I mentally hit myself in the head. I shouldn't have been egging her on. I should've been trying to restrain her from spilling out the information that would eventually lead to her death. I felt guilt wash over me as I stumbled over my feet more than once.

"You know," the third man said, somehow having caught up with us. "I knew that was going to happen. I knew that she would give out all her little secrets to you, to try and 'show us up'. But we're experts on interrogating rebels. They're all so predictable."

I imagined Johanna, distraught that she had, after all, been playing as the Capitol's pawn, making their moves. I shook my head. The Capitol was manipulative. Anything they said might not be the truth.

They lead me to a room that reminded me of the ones at the Training Center. Big and luxurious, unimaginable to anyone in the Districts. Why had they lead me here? Was it some kind of plot to later get any other information I didn't have out of me?

The two men who had been holding me let go of my arms and marched out of the room, leaving the third man with the key inside with me. He crossed his arms and looked at me.

"Alright. Here's your schedule. At eight, there's breakfast down the hall on the right, if you're hungry. Same with lunch and dinner." Ah. I forgot it was close to morning now.

"Tomorrow, at nine, get to the third level, third door to the left. At five, you'll be prepped up for your interview. You'll have an escort to each destination, so you don't have to worry about oversleeping."

Oversleeping…more like making sure I don't run off anywhere. I stared at him, thinking about 'the interview'. Then I remembered: after every Games, Caesar Flickerman hosted an interview for the Victor of the Games, along with a recap of what happened in the Arena. I couldn't picture them showing Katniss blowing up the force field. They had clipped out the part with Haymitch using the force field as a way to win his Games.

There was also the fact there was no victor for this Quarter Quell. What could the Capitol be planning?

I hadn't noticed the man had left. I collapsed myself on the large, soft bed. I had been awake since we were pulled away from the Arena. I didn't want to close my eyes. What could happen during my shut-eye? I stared up at the ceiling, wondering what use they could put me to now.

If they were planning to use me as a mouthpiece for the Capitol, I was sure they would have to do some serious persuading. After all, Katniss's soon-to-be husband going against everything they stood for…especially in the rebelling districts. It would be all too obvious what the Capitol was doing.

Then I thought about the actual rebellion, how it would eventually turn to war…if what I suspected was correct, that District 13 had enough firepower to withstand the Capitol, how much would they sacrifice to do it? They had gone on and lived peacefully underground while the rest of the Districts slaved on. It was pure unprecedented luck that Katniss came along.

If it weren't for her, District 13 would still be living in it's own little world, its future children ignorant of those outside its walls. They wouldn't feel anything for the Districts, even though they were technically on the same side. The Capitol would continue destroying the Districts, until District 13 actually succeeded.

By then, what else would be left of Panem?

...

I awoke on the bed, in the same position I was in last night, thinking about the future of Panem. A small window from near the ceiling on the right streamed in light, but it was too high to look outside.

I got up from the bed, running my hands through my hair, still encrusted with dirt from the Arena, my scratches and scars still fresh on my legs. I remembered the Capitol wouldn't know about the interrogation, and I doubted I would survive the next day if I blurted out what was really happening to them on live television.

Dragging myself to the bathroom, I turned away from the mirror and stripped off the dirty clothes, stepping into the shower, which automatically turned on, the water set as 'cold'. Good. I needed cold water to wake myself up, to remind myself what had happen in the last 24 hours.

In the shower, with no foamy bubbles or purple water, I told myself the events of yesterday, going over everything three times before finally stepping out of the shower and onto the mat, which dried my skin and hair immediately.

When I finished changing into a fresh pair of pants and solid color shirt, I just stood there, looking into the mirror on the back of the closet door, staring at my gaunt reflection.

Someone outside knocked on my door. I stood there for a few more moments, until the knocking grew louder and I knew it wasn't an invitation to breakfast.

I opened it. This time, it was a woman in a Capitol jacket and skirt, violet blue hair up, lips pursed. Her skin had a pale, lavender color and her ears seemed to small. Maybe it was just the Capitol.

She didn't nod at me, just turned and started walking down the hallway. Were all people who worked for the Capitol like this? Unemotional, poker-faced, brisk movements almost like a robot.

The Capitol woman stopped in front of a closed door which I assumed was the dining room. She unlocked the door, held it open, and as soon as I stepped inside, closed the door and locked it. So that's how it was going to be.

The dining room was smaller than I expected. It seemed like a copy of the room I had slept in, except stripped bare and replaced with two long tables that had plates of food on it and a single, round table for the diner.

A box of what seemed to be cards was set at one side of the table. Great. Something to keep me busy while I waited for my next escort.

I collected the plate that was placed on the table and walked up to the food. Using a prepared fork, I stabbed a piece of fruit. It looked to have been canned. Since the Districts were in rebellion it was obvious the Capitol would have to start using its stored food, ones they had stocked up on. District 9 was in charge of food processing.

What a joy it must be for the Capitol citizens. I recalled one of my prep team complaining about her friend's birthday party in which shrimp was not available.

Not hungry at all, I sat down at the table, my plate still empty, and just stared at it. I hoped Johanna was holding on. If the Capitol was going to make me speak for them, I would have a few things to say.

I picked up the box of cards and opened them. The cards were used, but looked almost new. I began to build the first of many card houses.

Author's Note: I know, weird place to stop. The next update will be within the next few days, if not later tonight. School starts on Tuesday, so I'm trying to write as many chapters as possible before then to get ready. This chapter, to me, is more of an insight to what Peeta's thinking about, and how it affects the choices he makes later in the story and Mockingjay.

Please review :)


	4. It Costs Everything You Are

**Chapter Four**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games. Any clips from Mockingjay used in this chapter were written by Suzanne Collins._

Author's Note: This is the last flashback chapter! Enjoy chapter four :)

The interview. When I stepped onto that stage with Caesar Flickerman for the first time, was this a risk I had in mind? Did I have any idea how events could take such a wild turn? Of course…something like this was always in the back of our minds. We knew the Capitol would never leave us alone, not even after the Games were over.

I remember something my father said long ago: "Nothing will ever turn out the way you expect it to. Everything happens for a reason. Bad things happen so better things can come together."

_Flashback_

By the time my next escort opened the door; I had built six complete card houses, and was just shuffling the cards back together, playing a card game I had learned from one of my older brothers when I was little. Only back in District 12 flat pieces of bark or used paper from school were substituted for cards, little symbols and signs penciled in to imitate real playing cards.

I glanced up from the deck of cards to my next escort and noticed this time it was a man, with the same lavender skin, blue hair, and small ears. Were this man and my previous escort siblings?

I nodded politely. "Hello."

The man stood, straight-faced, staring directly past my head.

I sighed, and rose from my place at the table, ready to head to whatever destination they decided to send me to. I pocketed the cards.

The man led me to the elevator across from my room and as we waited to get to another level, I looked closely at his face. His mouth seemed to contort for a moment before he swallowed. _Avox._

…

The bright lights above the stage flashed different patterns across the audience. This interview was live. I wouldn't be surprised if President Snow halted soldiers and made them march each rebel inside to where a television was playing to watch this. Even rebels wouldn't want to miss this.

Caesar Flickerman, looking the same as when I first met him, settled himself comfortably on his chair. _Do you have any idea what's going on out there? Do you realize what could happen? Do you even know what a war is? _I gazed at his powdered face, at his sparkly suit, into his clueless Capitol eyes.

I cleared my throat as the intro music blasted loudly from behind us and turned to look out into the audience placed in front of us. Katniss would most likely be watching.

I would need to make this good. I didn't know if I could convince District 13, but if I could resurrect the old Katniss, the girl on fire, then there might be a hope of relieving ourselves the eventual everlasting pain a war would cause. I had spent a lot of time thinking about this.

My skin still tingled from being scrubbed clean, powder rubbed across my rapidly healed injuries. I owed it all to Capitol medicine. Before getting prepped up by a group of Capitol stylists, I had gotten checked up by an Avox doctor and got any injuries wrapped up and concealed.

The clapping from the audience died down and I braced myself for the interview.

Caesar waited until everyone was silent and fixated on him. He gave me a long look, giving the impression of searching for something. "So…Peeta…welcome back."

I let myself give a half-smile. "I bet you thought you'd done your last interview with me, Caesar."

"I confess, I did," Caesar admitted. "The night before the Quarter Quell…well, who ever thought we'd see you again?"

Certainly not I. I frowned. "It wasn't part of my plan, that's for sure," I said.

Caesar shifted his body and leaned in a bit. "I think it was clear to all of us what your plan was. To sacrifice yourself in the arena so that Katniss Everdeen and your child could survive." Ah, I forgot about that. 'My child'.

"That was it," I agreed. "Clear and simple." I blinked slowly and let my finger crawl up the chair arm as I continued, "But other people had plans as well." If I knew Haymitch, he would be wasted to the bone while watching this, or maybe he had been deprived of alcohol in District 13.

I've made up my mind about him. What's done was done. I didn't hate Haymitch. I just felt that maybe all along my brothers were right. I gave too much of my trust away. I felt my eyebrows knit together and a little moment of silence followed before Caesar brought up the next topic.

"Why don't you tell us about that last night in the arena," he said lightly. "Help us sort a few things out."

At this moment, I knew President Snow would be keeping a very close eye on me, watching for any hidden meanings in my words. As much as I felt I should honor Johanna and her attitude, I couldn't afford to lose this chance for – possibly – a more lasting reward in the future. I would still choose my words carefully.

I nodded. "That last night…to tell you about that last night…well, first of all, you have to imagine how it felt in the arena. It was like being an insect trapped under a bowl filled with steaming air. And all around you, jungle…green and alive and ticking."

_Tick-tock. _"That giant clock ticking away your life. Every hour promising some new horror. You have to imagine that in the past two days, sixteen people have died – some of them defending you. At the rate things are going, the last eight will be dead by morning. Save one. The victor. And you plan it won't be you."

I thought back to my paintings, the day I showed them to Katniss in the train. I swallowed. That reaction – I was going to reach for it again.

"Once in the arena, the rest of the world becomes very distant. All the people and things you loved and care about almost cease to exist. The pink sky and the monsters in the jungle and the tributes who want your blood become your final reality, the only thing that ever mattered.

"As bad as it feels, you're going to have to do some killing, because in the arena, you only get one wish. And it's very costly," I concluded.

"It costs your life," Caesar remarked, his voice reflecting awe and understanding. Hardly. Well, if it helps get the message out.

"Oh no," I added, "It costs more than your life. To murder innocent people?" I thought back to my first kill of the Hunger Games. Cato had wounded the girl severely, and she would've died anyway, within a couple hours of agonizing pain.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't just walk away with the thought of leaving an innocent person to die that way. So I went back and gave her a swift death. I'll never forget that look she gave me. It was fleeting; nothing, not even the cameras could catch it except me. It was a look of gratitude.

"It costs everything you are."

As if on cue, Caesar repeated in a hushed voice, "everything you are."

The silence spread throughout the room. The atmosphere gave the clear feeling of wanting to know more yet holding back. This was a new experience to most in the Capitol. Actually thinking outside the secure little bubble they lived in most of the time…

"So you hold on to your wish. And that last night, yes, my wish was to save Katniss. But even without knowing about the rebels it didn't feel right. Everything was too complicated. I found myself regretting I hadn't run off earlier with her that day, as she had suggested. But there was no getting out of it at that point," I finally said.

"You were too caught up in Beetee's plan to electrify the salt lake," Caesar commented. I answered most of these questions with more ease, letting the words come out on their own. Then Caesar said it.

"Katniss blew it out, Peeta. You've seen the footage," Caesar said.

"She didn't what she was doing," I retorted, fully knowing the other side of the story. There, I began to feel myself heat up in anger as I snapped back at Caesar, even going as far as taking hold of his arm rests.

"Okay, Peeta. I believe you," said Caesar, putting a hand out to steady me. I fell back in my chair.

"What about your mentor, Haymitch Abernathy?"

I tightened my face. "I don't know what Haymitch knew."

Caesar pressed for more information. Was he doing this by orders of President Snow? "Could he have been part of the conspiracy?"

"He never mentioned it," I said truthfully.

"What does your heart tell you?" Great. Now he was beginning to sound like a therapist.

"That I shouldn't have trusted him. That's all," I ended firmly.

Caesar reached his hand out and gave me a few empty pats on the shoulder. "We can stop now, if you want." Sure.

"Was there more to discuss?" I was pretty sure this wasn't the end of it.

"I was going to ask your thoughts on the war, but if you're too upset…" Caesar replied.

Here it was. My chance. "Oh, I'm not too upset to answer that." I sucked in my breath and stared straight into the camera in the front row.

"I want everyone watching," I began, "whether you're on the Capitol side or the rebel side, to stop for just a moment and think about what this war could mean. For human beings." I paused.

"We almost went extinct fighting one another before. Now our numbers are even fewer. Our conditions more tenuous. Is this really what we want to do? Kill ourselves off completely? In the hopes that what – some decent species will inherit the smoking remains of the earth?"

Caesar's eyebrows connected for a moment. "I don't really…I'm not sure I'm following…" he muttered.

"We can't fight one another, Caesar," I pointed out. "There won't enough of us left to keep going. If everybody doesn't lay down their weapons – and I mean, as in _very soon_ – it's all over, anyway."

"So…you're calling for a cease-fire?" said Caesar quickly. I sighed. That was it. Whether it got to them or not, I was done with the interview for tonight.

"Yes," I said, "I'm calling for a cease-fire. Now why don't we ask the guards to take me back to my quarters so I can build another hundred card houses?"

Caesar sat up and turned his head to the camera. "All right," he called out. "I think that wraps it up. So back to our regularly scheduled programming."

Music blasted from the back again, and all of the lights turned back on, indicating the interview had officially ended. Caesar gave a quick nod towards me, standing up and walking away briskly.

I looked around for my Avox escorts. A pair of burly Capitol men came towards me instead. They motioned for me to go out one of the doors exiting the stage.

As I made my way over there, one leading me in the front, the other in the back, I noticed the whole audience had been cleared out quickly, and everyone was clearing up the stage as fast as possible, not talking except when needed and avoiding me.

The Capitol man in the front opened the door and held it for me as I walked through and into what seemed to be another large dressing room. This room was neatly cleaned and spotlessly empty.

And inside there, sitting on one of the high chairs, was President Snow himself.

Author's Note: Most of the interview was a repeat from the book, just from Peeta's perspective. Did anyone notice his wish was revealed? XD I actually didn't know he really did reveal his wish at the interview! When I typed out the wish scene with the star, I had no idea it would come up again in the book. :) Any comments?

Please review :)


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